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Posted By Udokabestluv On October 23rd, 2025

Outrage has followed the recent closure of more than 69 private primary and secondary schools across Cross River State by the state government.

The schools were shut down on October 20 and 21, 2025, following allegations that they were operating without government approval. The enforcement exercise was led by the Commissioner for Education, Stephen Odey.

Parents, teachers, and school proprietors have condemned the move, describing it as harsh and insensitive. Many questioned what form of support or grace period the government offered to help the affected schools upgrade their facilities and meet the new standards.

Some proprietors said they had already begun complying with government directives when, without adequate notice, task force teams stormed their premises and sealed them.

The action followed the state’s recently announced Education Reform Policy, which seeks to standardise operations across public and private schools. Key highlights of the policy include a uniform academic calendar, restriction to ministry-approved textbooks, and a ban on embedding workbooks into textbooks.

Other provisions include limiting graduation ceremonies to exit classes—Primary 6, JSS 3, and SS 3—abolishing nursery and kindergarten graduation rites to reduce parents’ costs, and regulating school hours: primary schools must close by 1 p.m. and secondary schools by 2 pm. After-school lessons are now optional and subject to parental consent.

To enforce these reforms, the government inaugurated two task forces — one to shut down illegal schools, and another, the Ministerial and Local Government Task Force on Educational Reform Implementation and Compliance.

Across private radio stations monitored in Calabar, several callers criticised the clampdown. One of them, Mr Jones Edim, described it as “high-handed,” appealing for a review to save thousands of pupils now stranded at home.

A parent, Mrs Maria Umoh, whose four children attend one of the affected schools, lamented that the closures would disrupt their learning. “Throughout this period, our children will miss classes while their mates continue elsewhere. It’s simply insensitive,” she said.

She also questioned what would happen to school fees already paid for the current term and urged the state government to reopen the schools while compelling them to meet compliance requirements.

Source: https://dailypost.ng/2025/10/23/outrage-in-cross-river-over-closure-of-69-schools/